South Carolina General Assembly
115th Session, 2003-2004

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H. 3075

STATUS INFORMATION

General Bill
Sponsors: Rep. Altman
Document Path: l:\council\bills\bbm\9327zw03.doc

Introduced in the House on January 14, 2003
Currently residing in the House Committee on Judiciary

Summary: Solicitor to certify likelihood of guilty jury verdict before calling case for trial

HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS 

     Date      Body   Action Description with journal page number
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   12/4/2002  House   Prefiled
   12/4/2002  House   Referred to Committee on Judiciary
   1/14/2003  House   Introduced and read first time HJ-35
   1/14/2003  House   Referred to Committee on Judiciary HJ-35

View the latest legislative information at the LPITS web site

VERSIONS OF THIS BILL

12/4/2002

(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

A BILL

TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING SECTION 1-7-345 SO AS TO REQUIRE THE SOLICITOR, BEFORE CALLING A CRIMINAL CASE FOR TRIAL, TO CERTIFY IN WRITING THAT IT IS THE SOLICITOR'S PROFESSIONAL OPINION THAT A JURY, UPON THE TRIAL OF THIS PARTICULAR CASE, WILL MORE LIKELY THAN NOT RETURN A VERDICT OF GUILTY, TO PROVIDE THE CERTIFICATION TO THE COURT AND COUNSEL FOR THE DEFENDANT, AND TO RECORD IT IN THE SOLICITOR'S OFFICE.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION    1.    This act may be cited as the "Solicitor's Certification Act of 2003".

SECTION    2.    Article 3, Chapter 7, Title 1 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Section    1-7-345.        (A)    Before calling a criminal case for trial, the solicitor shall certify in writing that it is the solicitor's professional opinion that a jury, upon the trial of this particular case, will more likely than not return a verdict of guilty.

(B)    The solicitor shall provide the certification to the court and counsel for the defendant, and record it in the solicitor's office. The certification must not be referred to during the trial. The certification becomes a public record after the trial."

SECTION    3.    This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

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